Designed to offer a balance between handling, comfort, rigidity and light weight, the top-end SLR01 has all the ingredients needed to be at the top of its game, as its price tag would suggest.

BMC has worked closely with Easton in the past but in this latest design BMC has gone its own way and created the Tuned Compliance Concept (TCC) for improved vertical flex to give increased comfort in the rear triangle and fork.

High stress areas such as the bottom bracket and top of the fork have been increased in size to provide a stiffer platform to work alongside the TCC. This is most evident on the fork - the lower leg is spindly in comparison to the bulky crown.

This, combined with the typically overbuilt BMC frame, gives a positive-handling front end through tight turns and out of the saddle.

Unidirectional carbon construction is used throughout the frame and gives typical BMC aesthetics. The most noteworthy design addition is the square seatpost with internal elastomer wedge clamping system.

Keeping the rear end tight, the seatstays two thirds of the way up the seat tube and give a stiff and responsive rear end. This transfers to a responsive ride that is somewhat dulled by the Easton wheels of our test bike. A stiffer, lighter set of wheels would give a more sprightly performance but will decrease compliance with the stiff frame.

Verdict

All in, this top-end BMC ticks all the boxes as a lightweight, stiff race bike and with a set of race wheels thrown in, will deliver high-quality performance.

Reviewer: Dan Duguid